Franchise history

1997–2000: Building a new franchise

After the Cleveland Barons left in 1978, Ohio's hockey fans had to wait 22 years to host another NHL team. Columbus entered an expansion bid in 1997, along with several other cities.[4] The voters of Columbus were considering a referendum to build a publicly financed arena, a major step toward approval of their NHL bid.[5] When League Commissioner Gary Bettman visited Columbus to meet with the community's leaders about the franchise proposal, there was concern that the voters might not pass the needed referendum. The civic leaders told Bettman that they would not be willing to foot the bill for the team if the referendum failed. However, just after the meeting adjourned, John H. McConnell (one of those who entered the bid) privately guaranteed Bettman that an arena would be built, referendum or not.[6]

Columbus' hopes for the bid dimmed when the May referendum failed. However, Nationwide announced on May 31, 1997, that it would finance the $150-million arena. Subsequently, on June 25, 1997, the NHL announced that Columbus would receive a new franchise.[2]

On June 23, 2000, the NHL's two newest teams, the Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild, took part in the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft in Calgary, Alberta. Under the draft's rules, 26 of the NHL's active 28 teams were allowed to protect one goaltender, five defensemen, and nine forwards, or two goaltenders, three defensemen, and seven forwards. The Atlanta Thrashers and Nashville Predators both had their full rosters protected because they were the two newest teams, only being in existence for one and two years, respectively. Both the Blue Jackets and Wild had to use their first 24 selections on three goaltenders, eight defensemen, and thirteen forwards. Their final two picks could be players of any position.[7]

2000–05: Early years

Logo 2000–2007

The Blue Jackets played their first regular-season game on October 7, 2000, a 5–3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Bruce Gardiner scored the franchise's first goal.[17] Columbus finished with a 28–39–9–6 record for 71 points, last in the Central Division, and failed to qualify for the playoffs.[18]Geoff Sanderson became the first player in team history to score 30 goals. Ron Tugnutt, who was signed in the summer of 2000, supplied solid goaltending with 22 wins, which tied the 74-year-old League record for wins by an expansion-team goalie (New York Rangers' Lorne Chabot also had 22 wins in 1926–27).[19]

The Blue Jackets finished next-to-last in the NHL in the following season, with only 57 points.[20]Ray Whitney, acquired from the Florida Panthers the previous season, led the team in scoring with 61 points, setting a franchise record.[21] Tragedy struck the Blue Jackets organization in March 2002 when 13-year-old Brittanie Cecil was killed after a deflected puck shot by Espen Knutsen struck her in the head while she was in the stands at Nationwide Arena. As a result of her death, large nylon mesh nets were installed behind the goals in all NHL arenas to shield spectators from pucks going over the glass.[22] The team also wore small red hearts with the initials "BNC" on their helmets.[23]

During the offseason, the Blue Jackets traded a second-round pick (32nd overall) and Tugnutt to the Dallas Stars. In return, Columbus received Dallas's first-round pick (20th overall) in the 2002 draft.[24] On the morning of the draft, Columbus traded the third-overall pick and the option to flip draft spots in 2003 to the Florida Panthers; in return Columbus received the first-overall pick, which they used to select Rick Nash.[25]

The 2002–03 season started with Columbus putting up a 7–5–1–1 record after the first 14 games.[26] However, as expectations from their fans grew higher, the team came back to mediocrity, finishing last in the Central Division for the third consecutive season and missing the playoffs once again.[27]Dave King, who had been the team's head coach since their debut in 2000, was fired midseason and replaced by general manager Doug MacLean.[28][29]Marc Denis was named starting goalie; he played a franchise-record 77 games that season and set a League record with 4,511 minutes played in 2002–03. He tied for second all-time for games played in a season by a goaltender, just two shy of the League record held by St. Louis Blues' Grant Fuhr in the 1995–96 season.[30][31]

The 2003–04 season was another losing season for the Blue Jackets despite key additions in the offseason. Checking center Todd Marchant was signed to a five-year contract in July from the Edmonton Oilers.[32] Defenseman Darryl Sydor, known to play strong offense as well, was acquired from the Dallas Stars for Mike Sillinger and a draft pick. MacLean stepped aside as head coach midway through the season, giving way to Gerard Gallant.[33] The Blue Jackets finished with just 62 points (the second-lowest total in their short history), but it was enough to help them break out of last place in the Central Division for the first time, finishing ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks. Nash was one of the few bright spots for the team; his 41 goals tied Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk for the Rocket Richard Trophy (as League leader in goals scored).[34]

Civil War cap shoulder patch

In the 2004 offseason, the League's Players' Association and the League's administration failed to renew their collective bargaining agreement. September 14, 2004 marked the beginning of the lockout of the 2004–05 season. No games were played and the Stanley Cup was not awarded for the first time since the flu epidemic of 1919.[35] An agreement was made on July 13, 2005 and the lockout officially ended nine days later on July 22, 2005.

2005 and beyond: Post-lockout

In the summer of 2005, rugged Colorado Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote agreed to a 3-year deal with the team.[36] Heading into the 2005–06 season, it appeared the Blue Jackets would finally take the next step and make the playoffs. Instead, injuries to Nash, Klesla, and Gilbert Brule, the team's 2005 first-round pick,[37] led to the team putting up a dismal 9–25–1 record through its first 35 games.[38] Superstar Sergei Fedorov was acquired from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks; Anaheim received Tyler Wright and Francois Beauchemin, and later claimed Todd Marchant off waivers.[39] While again failing to make the playoffs, Columbus did manage to improve. They had the best overtime record in the NHL (14–4) and finished the season with franchise records for wins (35) and points (74).[18] For the first time ever, they earned a third-place finish in the Central Division, behind Detroit and Nashville.[40]

On April 18, 2007, Doug MacLean, the team's first general manager and president, was fired after nine years and six seasons at the helm without a playoff berth. Mike Priest, President of Blue Jackets parent company JMAC, Inc.,[47] was named President of the club, while Assistant General Manager Jim Clark served as General Manager until the Blue Jackets named Edmonton Oilers Assistant General Manager Scott Howson as the new general manager on June 15, 2007.[18][48]

On October 4, 2007, the Blue Jackets announced their affiliation with the Elmira Jackals, which replaced their former affiliation with the Dayton Bombers as the club's ECHL affiliate.[49]

The 2007–08 season, the club's first full season under Hitchcock, started off well as the Jackets got off to their best start in franchise history, starting with a 4–0 shutout of the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks. At the trade deadline on February 26, 2008, however, apparently unable to agree on a new contract and amid some controversy,[50] Blue Jackets captain Adam Foote requested a trade to the Colorado Avalanche, which was granted. The Blue Jackets received a pair of conditional picks in return. A few weeks later, on March 12, 2008, former Blue Jackets number-one draft pick Rick Nash was named the new team captain.[51] Despite this, Columbus managed its best season record to date, staying above a .500 game wins average until the very last game of the season and finishing fourth in the Central Division with 80 points.[52] After the season, Nash was announced as the cover player for the NHL 2K9 video game by Take-Two Interactive.[53]

During the 2008–09 NHL season, the Blue Jackets made two trades which greatly played to their benefit. Forward Jason Williams was acquired from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for defenseman Clay Wilson and a sixth-round draft pick. The Blue Jackets were also involved with the first major deal of the 2009 NHL trade deadline, by trading goaltender Pascal Leclaire and a second-round draft pick to the Ottawa Senators for skilled center Antoine Vermette. The changes in scenery benefited both players and the Jackets; Williams scored 28 points in his first 36 games as a Jacket, while Vermette scored 11 points in his first 14 games with the team.

On April 8, 2009, the Columbus Blue Jackets secured the first Stanley Cup Playoff berth in the franchise's eight-year history with a 4-3 shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks.[56]

With 21 games remaining and sitting 4 points out of 8th in the Western Conference, the Blue Jackets dealt long time defenseman Rostislav Klesla and Dane Byers to the Phoenix Coyotes for Scottie Upshall and Sami Lepistö at the trade deadline (February 28, 2011).

In the offseason of 2011, in an attempt to make a serious playoff run, the Blue Jackets traded Jakub Voracek, their 2011 1st round pick (Sean Couturier), and a 3rd round pick (Nick Cousins) to the Philadelphia Flyers for All-Star center Jeff Carter. They also signed several free agents: James Wisniewski, Vaclav Prospal, and Radek Martinek. However, after a disastrous start to the 2011–12 season that saw the firing of head coach Scott Arniel, Carter was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Jack Johnson and a conditional 1st round pick after playing just 39 games with the Blue Jackets. The Blue Jackets also traded veteran centers Antoine Vermette and Samuel Påhlsson for goaltender Curtis McElhinney and several draft picks at the trade deadline. There was also heavy speculation that captain Rick Nash would be traded at the deadline. Although Nash wasn't traded, General Manager Scott Howson publicly announced that he had privately requested a trade, a move that has stirred up much controversy. [57][58]

Team information

Team name

The name "Blue Jackets" was chosen to celebrate "patriotism, pride, and the rich Civil War history in the state of Ohio and city of Columbus."[60] When President Abraham Lincoln requested that Ohio raise ten regiments at the outbreak of the Civil War, the state responded by raising a total of 23 volunteer infantry regiments for three months of service. Ohio also produced a number of great Civil War figures, including William Tecumseh Sherman, Ulysses S. Grant, Philip Sheridan, and George Custer. Columbus itself was host to large military bases, Camp Chase and Camp Thomas, which saw hundreds of thousands of Union soldiers and thousands of Confederate prisoners during the Civil War.

Jerseys

The team logo is a stylized version of the flag of Ohio, which is a pennant. Previously used as an alternate logo, it became the primary logo as part of a Reebok-sponsored redesign for the 2007–08 season.[61] The team's jerseys feature an alternate logo, a Civil War cap with crossed hockey sticks, on the shoulders.

The Blue Jackets unveiled a new third jersey in the 2010-2011 season, using a vintage hockey sweater design. In the spirit of its Civil War theme, it sports a union blue base with white stripes on the sleeves and on the shoulder padding. The crest features the team's Civil War-era cannon. It honors the team's founder, John H. McConnell, with his initials on the neckline, as well as its slogan "We fight, we march!" on the inside of the collar.

It was fired 164 times in its inaugural season (41 home games, 20 home victories, 103 goals scored at home). The title line of "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" by AC/DC is played when the cannon is fired followed by the chorus of "The Whip" by Locksley.

Broadcasters

On Fox Sports Ohio, Jeff Rimer serves as the television play-by-play announcer alongside former CBJ radio analyst Bill Davidge, who joined Rimer in 2009-10 replacing previous analyst Danny Gare.

On radio stations WBNS-FM (flagship), WBNS and WWCD, and 26 other affiliates in Ohio, George Matthews provides play-by-play coverage, with analysis provided by former Syracuse Crunch radio broadcaster Bob McElligott. Matthews has been calling Blue Jackets games since the team's inception in 2000, while Rimer started calling games on television in 2005.

Fox Sports Ohio, which broadcasts 79 games per season, airs pre-game and post-game shows ("Blue Jackets Live") for each game. Pre-game and post-game shows were hosted by Ray Craford and Bill Davidge (Ray Crawford moved to Chicago at the end of the 2011-2012 season). In-game reporting is provided by Natalie Taylor, previously a reporter for the Atlanta Thrashers. The host of the radio pre- and post-game shows is Mark Wyant and Bob McElligott. Fans can interact by e-mail and phone with the radio personalities during and after the game.[62][63]

Mascot and logo

Stinger is the official Mascot of the Blue Jackets. Stinger is a 6 foot 9 inch bright green bug that walks amongst the crowd during the games and skates on the ice between periods while wearing a Blue Jackets' jersey.[64] The image of Stinger was on the original Blue Jackets' jerseys. The Blue Jackets have since distanced themselves from Stinger, removing him entirely from the jerseys beginning in the 2005 season. The current logo of the Blue Jackets consists of the state of Ohio flag swirled around a star which is portrayed prominently on the Blue Jackets jersey.[65]

Notes

a The Blue Jackets acquired the first overall pick from the Florida Panthers for the third overall pick (Jay Bouwmeester) and the option to swap 2003 first round draft picks (not exercised) on June 22, 2002.

b The Blue Jackets acquired the eighth overall pick along with the 59th pick (Kyle Wharton) from the Carolina Hurricanes for the fourth overall pick (Andrew Ladd) on June 26, 2004.